travelin.sisters

what kinds of food do you like? I don't drink either but San Pedro Brewing does have very good food, Green Onion has good California style Mexican food, Buonos is pretty good pizza there are some other nice places within walking distance from the Crowne since you have a car you could go further out: if you want seafood you could go the 22nd street landing or try the new Trani's Dockside Station (I haven't eaten there yet but have heard good things & it was opened by one of our best local chefs) these would both be pricier than the first three...J Trani's is a long time San Pedro dining staple but you might need to make reservations ahead,

so glad you got the info you needed to make the best plan for you. If you arrive early enough & are interested in such things, the USS Iowa is walking distance from the Crowne Plaza & is well worth the visit. There are also some very nice places to eat within walking distance.

You have gotten a ton of good info & I don't know that what I have to say is much help, but...I would also definitely lean towards not renting a car & using uber...I think the freedom of not having to navigate our freeways & streets is worth something even if you don't save much money although it sounds like would save money as well I like San Pedro (I better since I live here) but I don't know that it is worth packing, checking out & moving to a new place for one night just to be nearer the port on embarkation day especially if turning in a rental is out of the equation. You could leisurely get ready Friday morning & request an Uber & be at the port at whatever time seems good to you, there is a big window for boarding so it's not like a flight where you want to get there early enough but not so early you are sitting waiting for hours...I hope you have a wonderful trip whatever you decide & that your husband's hand continues to heal quickly

I have not found the seas to be bad sailing out of SF & would always pick a port I could drive to over having to fly

it is a very nice easy walk so some of your group might want to walk rather than taking the shuttle especially if you don't have a ton of luggage or if some went in the shuttle with the luggage...

this is a general princess thread so people will not know what ship you are asking about

for boarding you can request wheelchair assistance, you or your TA can add it to your booking, but you may have to ask again at the terminal...I have not specifically done Vancouver but, in our experience there will be someone in the terminal to take you through the boarding process, then they will transfer you to a seat & you will wait your turn for someone from the ship to come with another wheelchair to take you onto the ship they will either drop you at your cabin or elsewhere on the ship...it is very helpful as BIL can not walk/stand for the boarding process...sometimes it is a long gangway onto the ship...it may require waiting longer than just walking on though so you will have to decide if this is best for you (there is no charge, but we usually tip both people who push the wheelchair) I have seen grapefruit juice in both the dining room & buffet, also lemon or you can request both LAYERS for Alaska any time you sail...it can be warm & comfortable or cold & rainy all in the same day let alone the same cruise

I have only done Hawai'i on Princess & short (3-4 day) cruises on Carnival so I can't compare for you, but I did 'lives' from our last 2 Hawai'i cruises to give you an idea what to expect. There is also a current live from the Sapphire LA-Hawai'i. Being from Texas, you might also consider the LA-Hawai'i cruise which is only starting $100 more & by the time you get to picking a room it may not be higher...it might have slightly smoother seas & warmer weather the first 2-3 days out & back in (or might not, weather to Hawai'i is unpredictable)... if you have specific questions, I will be glad to try & answer them.

thank you so much for sharing your cruise with us...we are halfway between Hawai'ian cruises so this is a nice chance to sail along...do you have Hawai'ian ambassadors doing 'ukulele, hula & such?

I have not seen this in a long time, I wonder if they are still doing it?

there should be excursions in PV as it is a very common port for west coast cruises, I don't know if I have ever taken one there (just shopped in the shops at the port)...no idea why they are not showing yet. we did Panama on the Island & I didn't have any trouble avoiding the smoking areas, I don't know about adult only areas, but my guess would be there won't be a lot of kids on that cruise. formal nights might show up on the app within a couple of weeks before your cruise (look for formal night photos in the activities) in my experience not many participate in the white & gold theme. most ports the ship switches to local time but I have been at ones that it doesn't it is well announced & on the signs as you depart, but yes it is challenging...PV is one of the ports that the ship doesn't always switch to local time.

I have enjoyed the assorted music classes even though I am not very musical ('ukulele, steel drum, glockenspiel...didn't like harmonica because the guy teaching it took it way to seriously), crafts, enrichment lectures, tea, usually take some books I never get to

a more accurate answer (in my experience) would be that Princess USUALLY uses local time as ship's time but there are rare exceptions.

@travelmama06 if you want near the terminal the two posted by @Mike45LC are really your best options as they combine parking & a shuttle to the terminal (the Crowne Plaza is also walking distance) but you didn't give much info, I am guessing since it is a Mex Riviera it will be 7-10 days & since you are from Canada you will be flying to LAX & don't need parking, but both of those pieces of information would help people give you their best advice, also if you are coming in just the day before & don't plan on doing any local sightseeing before your cruise (if you do then the suggestions might include something further from the port but nearer what you want to see) there is also a ton of good info on this topic here if you want to look at older posts.

we did (need a negative covid test) in Jan 2022 but not in March 2023 (both were R/T Hawai'i out of LA)

you may still have to ask at the terminal as they will not have that info until you get to check in...we cruise out of San Pedro & always have our TZ note this on our booking, but then ask when we get there, now he (BIL) uses the wheeled walker until we get through check in as like others it is the long steep ramp that he can't do without the wheelchair & then switch.

inside the terminal you can get a wheelchair & someone to push it...this is easy at San Pedro terminals although sometimes you have to wait a bit...they will take you from the entry through check in to the waiting area then you will transfer to a ship side wheelchair which will be pushed by someone in the crew to get you inside (we usually take a wheeled walker with a seat to get through check in & then use the ship wheelchair to get into the ship as it is a long walk up ramps & gangways for my BIL...you can request this before but you will probably need to ask again when you get there...we do always tip the pushing person

if I could control the weather I'd be a millionaire, but it shouldn't be bad here depending on where you are going you might hit some tropical storm activity still

there is a very active roll call for this cruise if you wish to join us:

this is the DND blurry but it has a red bar on the top of the screen green is for stateroom service (you can see the touch buttons on the two bottom corners to activate them) then this is what it looks like with neither activated

I have only ever been able to watch it once on the ship not before.

they will not have the destination specific menu items but the food should have similar variety & quality

we always have our TA add it to our booking, but you still need to ask at the port...we usually use the walker to get through check in & then have them put him in the wheelchair to get onto the ship as it is the long gangways that he can't do, but you can get a wheelchair before then you just need to let them know & sometimes it is a wait...there will be one shoreside wheelchair & 'pusher' to get you through check in then they will have you transfer to a seat & wait for the ship's wheelchair & staff to take you onto the ship, they will usually offer to take you all the way to your cabin...depending on which terminal you are sailing from it can be a long wait for an elevator (especially on disembarkation) as the larger, nicer terminal has very limited elevator capacity

a couple of points that haven't been covered (2 of us travel with food restrictions d/t allergies, one is common [shellfish] & one is more unusual [peppers]) although I always do the dietary restrictions ahead, only once has it made a difference & the headwaiter came to find us...but it is easy to ask at the first meal & get help some ships/headwaiters (they are actually now called restaurant managers, I think--I have trouble with the renaming of all the staff keeping track) do this really, really well but others you will have to remind the waiter to get them for you each night, others have found us even in the buffet when they are doing a shift there & helped...they will write out your order for the next day on a little slip of paper & then when you come to order the next day tell (or remind) the waiter that you have preordered & they will get it (usually they will bring you menus for lunch (if it will be a sea day) & dinner for the next day an advantage of eating at the same time/place each day is by the second day your waiter/jr waiter will remember & watch for your dietary restrictions & make sure the process works more smoothly for you depending on your dietary needs they have separate kitchens for various concerns (allergies/gluten) so there is little risk of cross contamination, that being said we have received a pepper as a garnish on our pepper free dish there is no separate diabetic menu as many diabetics eat any foods & adjust medications for carbs eaten...there are sugar free desserts on most, if not all, menus & in the venues at the buffet, you would want one of the "tall hat" guys (I don't know their titles, but they wear the very tall chef hats) to help you find foods that are ok...they can be either really helpful or not depending

@Steelers36 had good boarding suggestions for you; we usually get to the port before boarding starts, but for your needs I think that advice would be best, you could go straight to the MDR for lunch (or if that is overwhelming, you could grab a bite at the international cafe & take to your room) & your room should be ready by then (almost always ready by 1-1:30), you can stop by your muster station on your way to your room (you just need to swipe your medallion to check in & then, stay in your room, watch the muster drill & regroup for as long as you need (your stateroom steward will want to introduce themselves to you but that is fast & easy)...MDR dinner on the first night tends to be slow & more chaotic than any other evening, so that might be a night you want to choose specialty dining or room service? for disembarkation if it works (depending on your next travel plans) consider picking the last group & the parking yourself up on the deck or other place where people are not gathering for departure until just before your departure time & show up after most people have left alternately if you can carry your luggage off go for the first walk off group...you could ask if they would allow you to use the suite/elite lounge but it is not necessarily less crowded...